For days, Bush hating media members have concocted a variety of mostly nefarious theories why former President George W. Bush opted not to join Barack Obama at Ground Zero Thursday.
The Washington Post's David Ignatius on this weekend's "Chris Matthews Show" claimed, "The reason that Bush didn’t go is the photograph of the two of them together would have locked the reelection of Barack Obama in 2012" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
DAVID IGNATIUS, WASHINGTON POST: President Obama thought that President Bush should get credit [for Obama's death] 'cause he invited him to go to Ground Zero. I think the reason that Bush didn’t go is the photograph of the two of them together would have locked the reelection of Barack Obama in 2012.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Wow!
Since he left the White House on January 20, 2009, Bush has done everything in his power to stay out of the limelight with the exception of the promotion of his book a few months ago. It therefore seems logical that he was employing the same principle and not trying to upstage the current Commander-in-Chief.
As for Ignatius's theory that a photograph of Bush and Obama together would seal the latter's reelection, the more intuitive conclusion is that anything that would remind Americans of the 43rd president's role in Sunday's raid on bin Laden would have diminished the image of the 44th president.
That is likely the precise reason Bush, ever mindful of his role as former president - something that Jimmy Carter still hasn't learned after 30 years! - said no.
Isn't it ironic how the same media that coo and fawn over Obama's supposed class and grace are oblivious to those characteristics when displayed by his predecessor?
